The economic impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic has been dramatic and wide ranging, affecting millions of Americans and their employment, incomes, health care, and access to education, while exposing significant inequality in all of those areas.
Kathryn Dominguez, Ford School professor of economics and public policy, discussed the immediate and long-term consequences of the pandemic on the U.S. economy, the potential impacts of macroeconomic policies to resuscitate the economy, and the spillovers to the global economy. She addressed the issues in a colloquium at the National Academies of Science Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable that was focused on the economic outlook and the role of research and research institutions in restarting the economy.
Her presentation emphasized that the economic outlook and speed of recovery will importantly depend on whether there is a second wave of infections, and whether additional federal relief policies are put in place. Living standards fall less sharply if a second wave is avoided, but global output is not expected to recover for at least two years.
You can see more about the presentation here.
